Tag: JetBlue

Despite the urging of thousands of online fans, JetBlue Airlines announced last Saturday that flight attendant Steven Slater is no longer employed with them.

JetBlue Spokeswoman Jenny Dervin said yesterday that the 38-year old Slater, from Queens, is no longer employed by the airline but declined to release further details.

Slater gained folk-hero status last month when he jumped down a JetBlue plane that was taxiing at the Kennedy Airport by sliding down the emergency chute with beers in hand after a verbal altercation with a female passenger who allegedly hit Slater on the head with the overhead bin.

Slater had been suspended by the JetBlue airline after the incident. He was arrested at home on charges of criminal mischief, reckless endangerment and trespassing charges. After spending a few days in jail because he refuses to post bail, Slater probably saw the light, so to speak and is now currently out on bail.

Steven Slater left on Tuesday night the Bronx detention center we was incarcerated in. It will be remembered that he gained internet “fame” after his altercation with a passenger landed him in jail for charges of criminal mischief, reckless endangerment and criminal trespass, according to the Queens District Attorney’s Office. He was released on a $2,500 bail.

Diane Slater, Steven’s mother, defended him in an interview saying, “I don’t think he’s going to be in trouble very long. I think he just had a very small meltdown, and I think he deserves to be able to have that meltdown if you saw the egg on his head where he got smacked.”

Slater had a scratch on his forehead, but has declined to say whether he got it during his now internet (in)famous altercation with a passenger on the flight, who has only been identified as being a woman.

As Slater exited the jail, he told CNN-affiliate WABC that, “It’s been very, very appreciated. And it seems like something here has resonated with a few people and that’s kind of neat.”